Hay-rack.



S. E. SHAPER.

HAY-BACK.

AIPLI-UATION FILED MAY 20, 190B.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@Vi hwooco S. E. SHAFER.

HAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1908.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

woentoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL E. SHAFER, OF ELKHAR'I COUNTY, INDIANA.

HAY-RACK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. SHAFER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Elkhart county, in the State of Indiana, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Racks, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to hay racks for farm wagons and has for its objectthe improvement of devices of this character by mounting a truck on therack half the length thereof and arranged to roll from one end of therack to the other so that half of the load may be placed on the truckwhile at one end of the rack and then moved to the other end and theloading continued at the same end of the wagon.

My invention also contemplates a construction of gearing for moving thetruck that may be thrown into gear with a gear wheel on one o-f thewheels of the wagon, the lever for actuating the gearing being sopositioned that when the truck reaches the limit of its movement in aloaded condition it engages the lever and throws the gearing out of gearwith the wagon wheel.

rThe construction and operation of my improved hay rack will bedescribed hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich- Figure 1 is a side view of my improved hay rack, Fig. 2, a topplan view, Fig. 3, a cross section of the rack and truck, and Fig. 4, adetail view of the arm carrying the operating gear.

In the drawings similar reference characters indicate correspondingparts throughout the several views.

1 indicates the sills of the hay rack mounted o-n wheels 2 and havingcrosspieces 3 mounted thereon with the side boards 4 secured to the endsof said crosspieces, and longitudinal strips 5 secured intermediate ofthe ends of the cross-pieces that act as tracks for the truck to behereinafter described. The strips 5 are preferably covered with metalbars 6 to protect them from wear.

7 indicates the truck which is substantially one-half the length of therack, just described, consisting of longitudinal beams 8 having rollers82L journaled thereon that ride on the longitudinal strips 5.

9 indicates cross-pieces secured to beams 8, and 10 side-boards securedto the ends of cross-pieces 9.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 20, 1908.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 433,879.

11 indicates railings secured to the two ends of the truck 7.

12 indicates the ladders at the two ends of rack.

13 indicates a roller journaled on sills 1 near the rear end of thewagon and having a sprocket wheel 14 keyed thereon.

15 indicates an arm pivotally mounted on suppo-rt 16 secured to sill 1having an idle wheel 17 journaled on its free end.

18 indicates a chain geared on the sprocket wheel 14 and engaging idler17.

19 indicates a guide for chain 18 secured to arm 15.

20 indicates a bell-crank lever fulcrumed on sill 1 having one endconnected by means of link 21 with arm 15 and its other end connectedwith lever 22, fulcrumed at the front end of the rack, by means of rod23. t

24 indicates a sprocket wheel secured to one of the wheels 2 thatengages chain 18 when the arm 15 is lowered by swinging the lever 22toward the rear end of the rack.

-26 indicates a chain or cable secured to roller 13 and passed aroundpulley 27 at the front of the rack and having its end secured to thefront end of truck 7.

28 indicates a rod secured to the front end of truck 7 that engageslever 22 when the truck reaches the front of the rack and swings itforward so that the arm 15 is raised and the chain 18 *thrown out ofengagement with sprocket wheel 24.

ln operation the truck is over the rear end of the rack when the loadingis begun and the truck is first loaded. The arm 15 is then lowered byswinging the lever 22 toward the rear of the rack. By starting thewagonforward the roller 13 is rotated through the sprocket wheels 24 and14 and chain 18, winding the chain or cable 26 thereon so that the truck7 with its load is moved to the front end of the rack. As stated abovewhen the truck reaches the front end of the rack the rod 28 engageslever 22 and swings it so that the arm 15 is raised and the roller 18thrown out of gear with the wheel 2 and the forward motion of the truck7 automatically stopped.

29 indicates clips secured to the sideboards 10 and engaging theunderside of side-boards 4 to prevent the truck from tipping over.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In combinationwith a running gear, a

Viio

gear to stopI the movement of the truck.

hay rack mounted thereon, a truck mounted on said rack, gearing tomovesaid truck from one end of the rack to the other arranged to be drivenby one of the traction wheels, and means actuated by the truck whenmoved to throw said gearing out of gear with the traction wheel.

2. In combination with a running gear, a hay rack mounted thereon, atruck mounted on said rack, a roller journaled on the rack, aflexibleelement securedto the roller and to the truck, a sprocket wheel securedto the roller, a chain geared to said sprocket wheel, al sprocket wheelsecuredto one of the traction wheels, and means manually actuated tothrow the chain aforesaid into gear with the sprocket wheel on thetraction wheel to move the truck from one end of the rack to the otherand actuated by t-he truck when its movement is completed to throw itout of 3. In combination with a running gear, a hay rack mountedthereon, a. truck mounted on said rack, a roller journaled on the rack,a flexible element secured 'to the roller and to the truck,asprocketwheel secured to the roller, an arm pivotally secured to t-herack, an idle wheel secured to the arm, a chain geared on the sprocketwheel and engaging the 4idle wheel, a sprocket wheel secured to one -ofthe traction wheels, and means manually actuated to swing the arm sothat the chain is thrown into gear with the sprocket wheel on thetraction wheel to move t-he truck from one end of the rack to the otherand actuated by the t-ruck when its movement is completed to throw itout of gear to stop the movement of the truck.

4. In combination with a running gear, a hay rack mounted thereon, atruck mounted on said rack, a roller journaled on the rack, a flexibleelement secured to the roller and to the truck, a sprocket wheel securedto the roller, an arm pivotally secured to the rack, an idle wheelsecured to the arm, a chain geared on the sprocket wheel and engagingthe idle wheel, a sprocket wheel secured to one of the traction wheels,an'operating' lever fulcrumed on the rack, a bellcrank lever fulcrumedon said rack, a link connecting one arm of said lever with the armcarrying chain aforesaid, a rod connecting the other arm of thebell-crank lever and said operating lever, said lever being actuatedmanually to throw the chain into gear with the sprocket wheel on thetraction wheel, and a rod secured to the front end of the truck toengage the lever and move the chain out of gear with the sprocket wheelaforesaid.

5. In a self-loading hay rack the combination with a running-gear, of arack mounted on said running-gear, said rack being provided with amovable carrier, and means operated by the rot-ation of a wheel of therunning-gear t0 move the carrier from the rear to t-he front of therack, whereby the rackmay be loaded at the rear and the load moved fromthe rear to the front of the rack.

6. In a self-loading hay rack, the combination with a running-gear, of arack mounted on said running-gear, said rack being provided with amovable carrier, means operated by a wheel of the running-gear formoving the carrier from the rear to the front o-f the rack, and meansunder control of the operator for controlling said moving means.

7. The combination with a `wagon hayrack, and a carrier mounted fortravel thereon; of means driven by the wheels of the wagon for operatingthe carrier, and means operating when the carrier arrives at the end ofits travel to throw said driving means out of Oear.

8. In a self-loading hay rack, the combination with a running-gear, of arack mounted on said running-gear, said rack being provided with amovable carrier, means operated by a wheel of the running-gear formoving the carrier from the rear to the front of the rack, means undercontrol of the operator for controlling said moving means, and means forautomatically stopping the forward movement of the carrier when it hasreached a predetermined position. p

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

SAMUEL E. SHAFER.

Witnesses JACOB R. BRECKERMAN, I-IELEN B. ALBRIGHT.

G opies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

